Two Marks Of A Genuine Christian

Jn 13:4-5, 12-15

John 13:34-35

[34]A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another.

[35]By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”

I warmly welcome you all again to this fellowship. During my job my boss had told me to go with one more employee who had joined that day only to check whether the address he had given is correct or wrong, as we were going, he asked my name I told him my name then he asked about my religion, I said I believe in Jesus, then he had shown the mark of a cross on the down ending part of his thumb, then he was telling me that he was also a Christian because he had loved a girl of other religion he had to change his name and religion. Immediately that poked my mind, what are the marks of God's children.

Is it wearing a cross in our neck, wearing all the time white shirt, kurta, makes us Christians or because our parents wrote our religion Christian in the Birth Certificate column that makes us Christians. What makes us or shows as a Christian? Let's study and find out the answer.

If I ask you a question what is the second most important topic of the New Testament.

New Testament, is all about Love.

In the King James Version, love is mentioned 310 times, 131 times in the Old Testament and 179 times in the New Testament.

In the New American Standard Version, love is mentioned 348 times — 133 times in the Old Testament and 215 times in the New Testament. In the New International Version, it is mentioned 551 times — 319 times in the Old Testament and 232 times in the New Testament. There are 538 instances of the word "love" in the New Revised Standard Version, 317 in the Old Testament and 221 in the New Testament.

The word "love" appears 57 times in the Gospel of John, more often than in the other three gospels combined. Additionally, it appears 46 times in the First Epistle of John.

Even apostle Paul speaks so much of love. Entire 1 Cor. 13 is dedicated to love                      I Corinthians 13:1-3

[1]Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal.

[2]And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.

[3]And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing.

the conclusion is best of them all. And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love. I Corinthians 13:13

And in Rom. 13: 10 Love does not harm neighbour; therefore love is the fulfilment of the law.

That is the importance given to the character of love.

Now with our verse and chapter let's study first mark of a Christian

1) Love one another John 13:34-35

A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another.  By this, all will know that you are My disciples if you have love for one another.”

By this, by loving one another all will know that you are my disciples. If you love Christ then you love each other if you don't love then you are not his disciples. That love needs to follow the pattern of Jesus loving to his disciples.  If Jesus, Paul, John, James and Peter asked us to love one another.  There's one thing they all agreed to is to love one another.  If this is so important topic in the Bible then why do we fail to love, to understand this let us go to the commandment itself. So we crack it down like formula to solve the problem of not loving each other.

Matthew 22:39-40

[39]And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbour as yourself.’

[40]On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”

You know so many times, I feel like just close the Bible and close my sermon itself because it speaks so clearly that I am scared whether by explaining through some scholars or some commentaries I will take out the true and plain meaning of the scripture.

By practising these two commandments you follow the complete Old and New Testament.

Now, let us study carefully about the second commandment, Love your neighbour as yourself.

a) Learn to love yourself